The Great Pendragon Campaign

Pendragon

Yet another eventful year of being a knight, as this year we are to follow Prince Madoc in a campaign against the Franks, to aid Praetor Syagrius against those sassy Franks. However there was more then just war that was eventful, Lady Elaine blessed me with a favor, which either like a charm protected me from harm, or those filthy Franks are just really bad. The Siege at the city of Bayeaux also was quite successful and resulted in a bounty of plunder. My Marriage with Lady Elaine has been arranged is to happen soon, once I prove myself just a little more as an outstanding knight.

Entry 3

Winter of this 487th year of our Lord
Transcribed by Father Oswald

Combat is never easy. Every time the sword comes out of its sheath it sings death. Either for the man opposite of it or for the one who holds it. Fighting a single man can be a death sentence to other lesser men. Fighting to men at once would certainly be as if facing the Reaper himself. But fighting three men at once, who would have the stalwart heart and strength of arms to do such a thing. The answer to that question is myself, Sir Jayden. While out on a search on behalf of King Uther my party of fellow knights and myself were ambushed by dirty Saxon pagans. With great surprise they rushed from the cover of the tree line and attacked us.

Sadly Sir Morah was knocked unconscious by the Saxon warriors the beset him and Sir Tristian took great injury to his leg, yet still managed to dispatch his enemies. I on the other hand made quick work of the two Saxon warriors who were unlucky enough to meet me on the field of battle.

Seeing Sir Morah carried off into the woods by the enemy I had to make a snap decision to rescue him from their dirty hands and leave Sir Tristian to our squires. I rode my way to the enemy on horseback, but the forest was thick with trees. Because of this I was forced off my horse. With my horse no longer holding me back I was able to make good time on foot and caught up to the Saxon, it was then that I saw my predicament. There were three of them. I could not leave Sir Morah in their clutches, so I steeled my heart and joined battle with them.

With a quick yet strong slash downwards of my sword I was able to snap the battle axe of one of the Saxon warriors while also giving me a mortal wound, and as he laid on the ground I countered the attack from his partner killing him out right but a stab through the heart. The third Saxon upon seeing his fellows dispatched so quickly decided that he should join them in hell. He rushed me, screaming in his guttural language. Again I made quick work of my enemy, leaving him on the ground, quite. With the enemy dispatched I threw Sir Morah over my shoulder and made my way to where Sir Tristian and our Squires were. Afterwards we rode back to the City.

Sir Morah and his friends were once again summoned to court to attend the king. There was much feasting to be had and the presentation of Excalibur was to be done. Sir Morah, however missed much of the activities because he was occupied with other endeavors. The morning after the feast the knights were given a choice to fight with the prince on raiding missions or go with the king and serve under him. They chose to go with the king and help rally support for him with the other kings.

They were sent on a mission to the north to a far ruling king to ask his attendance on behalf of King Uther. They set of to find him missing from the town and fighting off Saxons. They chose to go looking for him but found more trouble than the knights had bargained for. They were ambushed in the woods when they were following the trail of the army and Sir Morah was knocked out after slaying a man with one blow. When he came to they were back in town getting medical treatment for the others hadn’t faired that well in the fight either for only Sir Jayden remained capable to fight.

When the king returned they were quickly dismissed for he had no interest in seeing King Uther.

This year appears to be a fantastic year, my land bolds well, bearing great harvests and the weather appears as fine as the most elegant silks. We are yet again summoned to Sarum at the best of our lord, Earl Roderick, however this year an important guest appears before us, The Pendragon, King Uther himself! A great feast is held and our adventure for the great Merlin is told to the entire court, and Merlin himself appears and hands over the sword from the lake to the king, a sword named Excalibur apparently.

This year we had a choice for what our duty would be, some favour the King had asked our Lord to bestow upon us, to either accompany the King and Lord Roderick to the north, or go raiding with the Prince and lay waste to the Saxon navy. Though I personally would of preferred nothing more then to wet my blade with blood against the Saxons, my duty was clear, to protect my Lord and his Majesty, King Uther.

We rode north and more feasts were held, King Uther showed off Excalibur to the Lords of the north while we tasked with traveling to Eburacum, on behalf of King Uther to invite the king to visit Uther in Lindsey. We arrived though to learn that he was away fighting the Saxons, as such we decided to journey to him instead of waiting for him in the city. However we were ambushed by the Saxon scum from the woods, and while I easily dispatched the Saxon filth in front of me, one struck my leg with a mighty blow, such luck the Saxon had, but short lived as he fell to my sword.

Despite my Injury, everything still went well, I made progress with the beautiful Lady Elaine, we talked, we danced and I even presented her a lovely brooch, fitted with a diamond that reflects the beauty of her eyes. However this is just the beginning of what I have planned for the one who I hold in my heart…..

At my lords request, we march for Silchester, there we gather with the rest of the Kings army to prepare for battle against the Saxons, I can look around and see many of my fellow Knights nervous, though I look at Sir Jayden and see an award winning grin on his shoulders, and I can not blame him, for I too wore such a grin, a chance to prove to Sir Osbert what I can really do, for Saxons if nothing else would at least prove a worthy foe to test my mettle against.

At Mearchred Creek we did battle, charging in with lance in hand, I effortless dispatched my first opponent, however we were ordered to fall back, a mistake on Sir Elads part as it put all of us in great danger. Luckily Sir Osbert efforts in my training were not wasted as I pushed back my next foe, and with the tides shifting I once again showed my mettle, slaying anyone who stood in my way until the battle was done, where I took pity on the foes in front of me, and let them run away, but not before giving him a nice scar to remember me by.

Winter Court this year was depressing, much had happened and people were worried, many of the festivities simply did not occur, nor did I get a chance to see the one I secretly like….

The Year is 486 and the mood has improved if only slightly, we knights assemble to Sarum in order to do our duty to our Lord, Earl Roderick, sadly that duty was simply Garrison and patrol duty, no doubt due to the embarrassment that Sir Elad received by the hands of Jayden and Morah. Nevertheless, we did our duty, and in doing so we came across an old man who was in need of aid, at his request we went to secure his goat, however this was no ordinary goat… the thing was MASSIVE!! I mean come on! How did he grow such a beast!? You’d think he fed it with grains and oats from the Heavens themselves!! It was at this time we came across a foul giant the was assaulting the poor beast, we swiftly charged in and with one mighty thrust from my blade I slew the beast, to ensure that the beast was dead however, I got off my steed and delivered a rather fancy Coup de Grace. Upon our return to the old man, his appearance changed into a rather familiar figure, Merlin. It appears he had in need of our assistance in a matter. We followed him into the woods when we were besiege by some weird figure on top of a horse with four arms, and we did battle with it, and in the end it appears we bested it, because apparently it got a lucky blow and knocked me out…. Damn Faerie creatures and magic, such pains they are to deal with, give me Saxon hordes any day… At least they fight fair…

Now let me tell you of Saxons scum. Sir Morah wasn’t just called to Sarum to be knighted. You might remember I told you war was waging and men were needed. Very shortly after the knighting Sir Morah and his friends set of to fight in what would become the Battle of Mearcred Creek. You might have heard that the battle ended indecisively. This was indeed the case as the battle went back and forth for several hours. After the initial charge the unit your great great grandfather was in was foolishly ordered to pull back. This mistake almost cost the battle. Were it not for Sir Morah and his friends valor and strength to pull the fight back King Uther would have likely been defeated on this day. After the battle Sir Morah and his friend Sir Jayden’s pride led them to berate their commander, Sir Elad, for his folly in front of the Pendragon himself! They are lucky he didn’t have them killed for their arrogance, but they didn’t get out without penalty for Sir Elad held a grudge for them after that.

Winter that year was quite boring as Winter Court was but a shadow of what it could since the Pendragon was busy dealing with some problems of state. Spring started out that year no more exciting as Earl Roderick had Sir Morah and his friends hold garrison duty. While honorable and worth of glory garrison duty is, it is not a knights first choice for adventure. However, one patrol would change the tone of the entire summer.

Patrolling is part of a knight’s responsibility during garrison duty and Sir Morah and his friends were not ones to shirk their duty. On one of their patrols they came across an elderly man claiming to the knights that his goat had run off and he desperately need their help. Helping the peasantry is very important for a knight and the group, albeit not eagerly, set off to help the old man. They quickly spotted the goat and upon further inspection found it to be huge. It was easily the size of a horse. Their approach spooked the goat and it ran into the forest. The knights chased after it and after a few minutes they lost sight of it over a hill. Soon after they heard the pain stricken cries of the goat coming over the hill. They quickly rode up the hill and found the goat being held by a giant. Now things were getting interesting. Finally it was time for the knights to do something worthy of their station. All the energy the knights had yet to use this summer was quickly put into one furious charge at this creature. Sir Jayden led the charge and dealt a sound blow to the creature knocking the tree it had in its hand to the ground, Sir Tristian followed and finished the creature off with a second blow. While Sir Morah followed quickly behind Sir Tristian he got there after the creature was just felled.

Now all of you have surely heard of Merlin the Druid. When they returned the goat the old man magically turned into Merlin himself! This was a test for the knights for Merlin had need of their help. They began off into the woods and immediately something seemed off to Sir Morah. Your great great grandfather was quite knowledgeable about things relating to the Faerie World and immediately realized they were heading there. Not seconds after arriving in the Faerie World Merlin said he had something to do and we needed to protect him. A monster of Green Goo stood before the brave knights and charged them. This creature was a man and a horse with 4 arms each wielding a weapon. The brave knights fought this beast and slowly they began to fall to it. After both of his friends were down and Sir Morah was the last standing, he too took a mighty blow that put him on the ground, or so the monster thought. As the monster crept away towards the druid Sir Morah stood back up and finished the creature with one last swing of his sword! And that children is where the green sword we have comes from, for Sir Morah took it after slaying the beast as a trophy of the accomplishment.

Entry 2

Spring of this 485th year of our Lord
Transcribed by Father Oswald

The Battle of Mearcred Creek. The first battle in which I fought as a knight. War is an interesting subject. At no time in my life was I more afraid, yet nor has there been another moment more exhilarating. One false move could end in death.

Before the battle was met I had decided to look upon the field of battle. It was at this time that I discovered the land from which our army was supposed to fight upon was wet and muddy. This would have led to a serious disadvantage to our knights and the rest our men. How the King missed this was beyond me. Upon realizing this I immediately tried to alert King Uther but was blocked from entering his tent. Unable to alert the King I went to Sir Elad with the information, and he had gone to Earl Roderick who was able to inform the King.

Know that while being engaged in mortal combat with the enemy may be a scary experience, there is nothing more terrifying on the Lord’s Earth then being in front of the King. It was an honor to advise him on the upcoming battle but never before in my life had I had to carefully choose my words.

Now onto the matter of Sir Elad. During the Battle of Mearcred Creek he was the commander of our eschille. I now believe this to be a mistake. He may have been the man to train us, but mistakes in battle lead to lives being lost. Sir Elad’s command to pull back after the initial charge was such a mistake. If it wasn’t for the efforts of myself and my fellow knights Sir Morah and Sir Tristian our eschille would have been destroyed. After the battle though Sir Elad was given the credit for our actions. My blood was boiling. I do not know if it was due to the my nerves after nearly dying in combat or if I truly felt slighted by Sir Elad but I had to do something. Sir Morah and I confronted Sir Elad on his tactical mistakes during the the battle. Especially that first pullback that nearly led to our deaths. I am not sorry for what I did.

It seems that I may be making an enemy in Sir Jaradan for during Court at Christmas he had challenged me to a duel to the death. He may have had to much to drink, but I believe I should be careful around Sir Jaradan from now on. I may have to end this feud one day, and that would have deadly consequences.

Her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite...

With talk of war brewing and the Saxons still raiding in the Northeast, the knights descend upon Sarum to do their yearly duty to Earl Roderick. They are brimming with excitement at the possibility of once again riding forth to bring battle to the ravaging Saxon horde. Instead, Earl Roderick crushes their expectations and announces that they would stay behind and perform garrison duty in Sarum. There was much grumbling, but the knights are loyal and do their duty to their lord.

On a routine patrol, the three knights happen upon an elderly goatherd, who cries out for their help. His prize goat, a beast of unusual size, has slipped his lead and run off up a hill. The goatherd begs the knights to catch the prize goat as his back and knees are far too sore and weak for him to make the climb. The knights immediately take up the challenge, though they mutter words of suspicion and distrust, and charge their horses up the hill in an attempt to catch the goat. The goat proves itself far too nimble, however and easily eludes their clumsy attempts. It runs into some thicker brush down the other side of the hill and disappears.

The knights begin to trot down the hill when they hear the goat shriek in pain and then suddenly the ground shakes and the trees part. A huge, three-eyed giant emerges from the copse of trees, the hapless goat clutched by the horns in the giant’s huge fist. Spotting the knights, the giant tosses the goat aside and tears a tree from the earth to use as a club. The knights, undeterred by the size of their foe, dip their lances and charge! The knights strike true with their weapons and lay the giant low. “That’s easy!” they cry as they gather up the goat and return to the goatherd.

As they approach the goatherd, the air around him seems to shimmer and he suddenly transforms into Merlin! The nods at the knights and tells them that they will suffice for the coming task. He bids them follow him and protect him as he goes about the business of the kingdom. They follow him into some woods and find themselves walking through the faery realm itself. A short time later they come upon a calm lake, a small raft secured at its shore. Merlin steps onto the raft and tells the knights to defend him with their lives.

Before the knights can question the druid, a mounted knight emerges from the woods. Both knight and horse are a sickly green color and seem to be slimy and not-quite solid. The knight holds a green sword in each hand and, to the horror of the knights, grows another set of arms! With those arms it rips free branches from a nearby tree to use as clubs. The knights boldly move to intervene as the creature charges directly toward the lake and Merlin. The conflict is bloody, with Sir Jaradan nearly being killed with a single blow of the slimy, green knights sword. Sir Tristian, likewise, falls to the creatures attacks. Sir Morah, the last knight standing between the knight-creature and Merlin, suffers a stunning blow and is knocked off his feet. Morah, being a tactical and prudent knight, plays dead for a moment, which causes the green knight to move past him toward Merlin. Morah then surges back to his feet and launches a desperate attack, which finally destroys the creature, just a few feet from the lake. Morah, bloody and barely able to stand, watches as Merlin’s raft drifts unerringly to the center of the lake. He gasps as a hand, clad in the brightest, shimmering samite, rises from the still pool clutching a glowing sword. Merlin takes the sword and tucks it under his robe. The hand then slowly slides back beneath the surface and disappears.

With no visible means of propulsion, Merlin’s raft slides across the water and returns to shore, where he acknowledges Sir Morah’s bravery and skill at arms. He then uses his strange powers and heals the knights, returning them to full health. With a wink and a small bow, he disappears back into the woods, leaving the confused knights to return to Sarum with their strange tale. Sir Morah and Sir Jayden take the strange green swords that the Nukulavee (as they learn from Merlin) dropped when killed.

Back at court, Sir Morah awes the assembled court with a song about the exploits, while Sir Tristian tells the tale around the hearth fire. Sir Jayden butchers his version of the tale and is accused of boasting.

The Battle of Mearcred Creek

Our Knights, Tristian, Morah, and Jayden, travel with the Earl’s retinue to rendezvous with King Uther’s army just outside of Silchester. The King’s army is massive and the knights begin to feel anxious. This will be their first battle as knights and they struggle against a tide of anxiety and fear as they march closer to the site of the battle against the Saxon force led by King AElle.

The King’s forces finally confront the Saxons at a narrow valley, bordered on the south by dense woods and rolling hills to the north. The Saxons make camp in the woods while King Uther’s men strike their tents in the hills. The battle will take place in the valley, over a shallow stream called the Mearcred Creek.

With the moon high, the knights look over the field of battle, perhaps trying to envision the carnage to come or to screw up their courage for the inevitable slaughter. Sir Jayden’s keen tactical mind spots what he considers a fault in the battlefield which would put the King’s knights at a disadvantage. The ground north of the creek, over which they would be charging, is mired in deep, thick mud, while the ground to the south, upon which the Saxons would be assembling, was more rocky and solid. Jayden immediately seeks counsel with the King, but is turned aside by his house knights. Instead, Jayden and his companions seek out Sir Elad, their trusted trainer and friend. He surveys the battlefield and finds Jayden’s observations both insightful and valuable, so he takes the information to Earl Roderick, who takes it to the King. The King is grateful for the insight and thanks Sir Jayden for bringing the information to his attention. He asks Jayden how he would conduct the battle and is satisfied with his response. Jayden returns to his fellow knights with a bit more glory and the King’s respect, but whispers of him being disrespectful to the king filter throughout the camp.

As the sun rises, the knights find themselves assembling in the command of Sir Elad, who would lead their eschille. Earl Roderick himself addresses the group before the battle, offering words of encouragement and inspiration.

Across the creek, the Saxon forces scream and chant in their gutteral language, sending new waves of anxiety through the young knights. Sir Elad’s strong presence and forceful command set their minds at ease, however, and when the call comes to charge they set spurs to flanks and thunder across the valley, the tips of their lances shining brightly in the morning light.

The knights meet Saxon footmen, armed with longspears on their initial charge. Their lances strick true and Sir Elad’s forces smash through the Saxon lines, dealing death to their lightly armored foes.

As the knights recover from their charge, deep in enemy territory, their luck turns. Closely engaged, Sir Elad calls for his unit to fall back so as to allow for another charge. The order proves to be a disaster as they are attacked by well-trained but older Saxon warriors, clad in chainmail and wearing blue cloaks. Armed with long spears, these Saxons attack with ferocity and strike the knights hard, unseating Sir Jayden and wounding Sir Morah. Sir Morah rallies his squire, James, and has him give his horse to Sir Jayden. Terric is more than happy to retire from the battle and scurries off toward friendly forces. The unit as a whole, however, is in disarray and threatening to unravel completely. Sir Elad attempts to rally his forces and calls to stand fast as axe-bearing warriors smash into his knights. Tristian, Morah, and Jayden fight with savage desperation and overwhelm the lightly armored axe-men by force of will and the might of their arms, driving back the attacking forces.

Sir Elad, finding the field around him clear, thanks in no small part to the heroics of Jayden, Morah, and Tristian, orders a charge against a group of shield warriors setting up for an attack.

Again, the knights smash into the smaller Saxon forces and rout them, sending them fleeing from the field of battle. Things are looking up for Sir Elad, until he makes another horrible error in judgement and allows his forces to be surrounded by another force of shield-bearers and axe-men. The knights fight with desperation and ferocity and manage to drive both groups off. As they recover from the fight, they hear the general retreat and fall back as both armies leave the field. King Uther’s forces prevail, but the victory is minor and come at great loss of life.

Sir Elad’s force was the most effective unit on the field and glory and praise is heaped upon him. Sir Jayden and Morah, however, confront the man about his tactical blunders during the battle and point out to all those within earshot that if not for their prowess, the entire unit would have been destroyed. Sir Elad is shamed in front of the Earl. With a face ruddy with embarrassment, he retires to his tent to await the return to Sarum.

At the Christmas Court later that year, Sir Jayden is confronted by an obviously drunk Sir Jaradan, who demands satisfaction for his loss to Jayden earlier in the year, a duel to the death! Sir Jayden is able to talk his way out of the fight, much to the relief of the court, but feels that Jaradan’s hatred and envy of the young knight will lead to an inevitable confrontation.

Life of Sir Morah as Told by his grandson to his great great grandchildren.

Young ones let me tell you of the first year they called your great great grandfather Sir Morah.
The year was 485. As with any knight your great great grandfather was known only as Morah as he had not yet earned the title Sir. Early spring came that year and as a final test, their knighthood was believed eminent, him and his longtime friends Jayden and Tristian were put through the grinder. Morah was the first to go through the trials and started out loudly declaring his famous loyalty for Earl Roderick and even though his horsemanship was not known to be outstanding he seemed as though he was a champion horse rider! He flew through the course jumping bushes and ditches with great ease. He was set to make an expert time when at the last test, the two on one fight, where instead of hitting the squires below he threw his sword. Were it not for that mishap he would have surely won instead of finishing second.

The next day Morah and his friends were called to Sarum as war was waging and men were needed. On the road there they came across three bandits beating a poor farmer. The three were directed to fight the bandits and Morah, being a valorous squire, quickly squared off against the one who posed the most challenging. After a few seconds of blow after blow Morah knocked the man off the cart he was standing on and demanded the bandit’s surrender. Morah was well known to be an incredibly just knight and justice was due this man so they took him as their prisoner and gave him to the earl when they reached Sarum.

Two days after arriving and Sarum Morah would forever be known was Sir Morah for he and his friends were knighted. Now you’ve all heard of the leap. Well Sir Morah had too, but in a grand fashion forgot the leap part and tripped right into the rump of his horse. It is lucky that he is not known through the land for this magnificent failure though he is known to have joked about it during his life.